Metaphor and Memory: How Metaphors Instantiate Schemas in and Influence Memory of Narrative

Sarah Cox, Oberlin College

Paul Thibodeau, Oberlin College

Abstract

Metaphoric frames are prominently featured in public discourse.
They highlight certain aspects of the target issues they are used to describe,
thereby encouraging specific patterns of inference. Our goal was to test whether
they would influence memory as well. Building off prior work, we contrasted two
metaphors for crime: virus and beast. In a pilot study, we identified specific
causes, examples, and solutions to crime that were congruent with each frame (one
but not the other; e.g., people thought “drug use” better exemplified
a crime virus, whereas “murder” better exemplified a crime beast).
Participants (n = 469) read or listened to a short metaphorically-framed crime
report, completed a filler task, and were prompted for the information they had
seen/heard. Results indicated the virus metaphor facilitated memory, overall, but
not the specific frame-congruent information, suggesting a more general influence
of the frame than predicted.